Loving the Sheriff
by DarylDixon'sgirl1985
Summary: Harry Potter was proud to say that he was one of the finest sheriffs in all the surrounding counties. He rarely had anything go wrong on his watch. He always caught his guy. Most of all he never bought into anything without checking it out first. Western!AU/Muggle!AU


**Hey everyone. This story was brought to you by Northern Funfair's Christmas Sing-Along, Southern Funfair's Fill A Christmas Stocking, Eastern Funfair's Angel Tree, Pinata Club, Galleons Club, and Press Play on Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. **

**Northern Funfair's Christmas Sing-Along: Christmas, Baby, Please Come Home - Darlene Love "Please, please, please, please" Write about someone begging.**

**Southern Funfair's Fill A Christmas Stocking: Sweets (Job) Auror/Police**

**Eastern Funfair's Angel Tree: Harry Potter (pairing) Harry/Percy, (AU) Western, and (dialogue) "Huh...Now where did that come from?"**

**Pinata Club: Medium Harry Potter**

**Galleons Club: (word) ominous**

**Press Play: (dialogue) "Hit me."**

**Warning for mentions of character death. Word count is 1,869 words. I hope you all enjoy Loving the Sheriff.**

Harry Potter was proud to say that he was one of the finest sheriffs in all the surrounding counties. He rarely had anything go wrong on his watch. He always caught his guy. Most of all he never bought into anything without checking it out first.

But there was something different about the day they brought him in. Something that Harry couldn't put his finger on. A change in the wind some might say. More likely Harry was just feeling off that day. But whatever it was, Harry wasn't ready for it, or him.

The ominous sound of gun fire came from off in the distance as Sheriff Potter sat at his desk drinking his morning coffee. He usually preferred it black but the usual help wasn't in today. The girl that was put two sugars and cream in it. He would drink anyway but he'd have preferred it the other way. His usual.

He saw the girl jump, as she was cleaning the firegrate, when the gunfire started going off. He jumped to his feet pulling his own weapon in case he needed to shoot something or someone.

"Huh...Now where did that come from?" Harry asked as he went to the window to look out. He could see from the window, a huge crowd of people surging towards something. "Stay here, Luna. Lock the door behind me, and don't let anyone in until you hear from me. Do you hear?"

Luna nodded her blonde haired head. She looked pretty scared as she followed him slowly to the door.

"Don't worry," Harry assured her. "It was probably some silly school children setting off some firecrackers to let off steam."

He knew it wasn't, of course, but he wasn't about to tell her that. The poor thing looked scared enough as it was. He didn't want to add to that any more than he had. He opened the door and could hear the shouts coming from the surging army of people. He couldn't make out what they were saying, but they sure were angry.

"Fred," Harry called out to the passing red-haired man, "what's going on?"

"He's finally done it," Fred called back. "He's finally lost his bloody mind and done it." Fred shook his head as joined the mass heading towards the noise.

"Done what?" Harry asked as he joined Fred. "Who's done what, Fred?"

"My brother, Percy. The damned fool has finally gone and shot his boss like he's been saying he was going to for days now."

Harry stopped dead in his tracks. This was Percy Weasley they were talking about after all. The most level headed human being in the county that he knew of. Sure Percy had complained a lot about Cornelius Fudge over the last few years. But a complaint had never before lead to someone being shot. Not that Harry ever remembered in his time as sheriff.

"Move aside," Harry called, as he pushed his way through the crowd. "I'm the sheriff, and we won't have vigilante justice here."

"Cornelius Fudge was a friend of mine," Rufus Scrimgueor called out. "If we don't get justice for his death we're going to take it for ourselves. Do you hear me, lawman?"

"You'll get your justice," Harry said. "But you'll get it the legal way. Now move out of my way, people."

The crowd slowly parted to allow the sheriff through. Harry felt his heart pounding in his ears as he made his way towards the place where everyone had started to gather. He could see the lifeless body of Cornelius Fudge on the ground. A pool of blood cooling in the early morning breeze.

Beyond that was the cowering form of the one person he would never suspect of such a cowardly act. Percy Weasley, looked terrified. Not like someone who had viciously taken a life and was proud of it.

"Harry," Percy called out, walking over to the dark haired sheriff, "I didn't do it. You have to believe me. I was set up."

"I wish I could be you, Percy," Harry said, looking between Percy and Fudge. "You were found standing over the dead body."

"Harry, do I look like the sort that would willingly kill someone as powerful as Cornelius Fudge? I've acted stupid in the past, but not that stupid. I would like to think that you know me well enough by now to know that."

"Do you have any evidence to prove that you didn't kill Cornelius Fudge?" Harry asked Percy reasonably. He wasn't a horrible person. He would hear Percy out if the older man had any evidence to defend himself. "Anyone who could corroborate your story?"

Percy's eyes widened in fear. He shook his head frantically, looking around him for any sign of someone coming to his aid.

Harry also found himself looking around for anyone would corroborate the story that Percy was telling. His heart sank as he saw that not even Percy's own family was meeting his eyes. No one could say that Percy hadn't done what was accused of.

"I'm sorry, Percy," Harry said, taking his handcuffs out of his back pockets. "I"m going to have to take you to the sheriff's office ..."

"But you can't take me there. They're calling for my blood. Don't you hear them?"

The people were indeed calling for Percy's blood, and Harry's heart went out to the poor man. If he didn't have to he wouldn't take Percy to the sheriff's office. But he had to. That was his job to arrest the guilty and protect the innocent.

"I'm sorry Percy."

After putting the handcuffs on Harry led Percy towards the sheriff's office. The whole procession felt like a funeral procession, and Harry knew that if the crowd had its way, it probably was. Looking around at all the angry faces he mustered up the courage to continue the trek. He would figure out what to do once they arrived at their destination.

"You know they'll lynch me for sure," Percy said, as he sat down in the cell he was shown to. "They don't want to give me a fair trial. They want justice for Fudge."

"Why shouldn't they have their justice?" Harry asked, watching the older man warily. He wouldn't admit this out loud but he'd always had a crush on Percy when he was younger. If he was a different man he would use this situation to his advantage to get something out of the deal. But that wasn't him.

"I'm not saying they shouldn't have justice. I'm just saying they should have it from the right man. Don't you think?"

Harry nodded thoughtfully. "But who would the right man be then?"

"Rufus Scrimgoeur. He was the one to pull the trigger. I saw him with my own two eyes. It was definitely him."

"Rufus Scrimgoeur was one of the ones leading the charge to come get you and put you behind bars, Percy. Are you saying he killed Fudge, and then went down the street and made it look like it was you?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying." Percy sighed. "You can read people pretty well, can't you, Sheriff?"

Harry nodded.

"Look in my eyes and tell me that I'm lying to you," Percy said leaning his head against the bars. "You can't, can you?"

Harry sighed. "No," he said. "I can't. But that…"

"They're going to be back here with a lynch mob to kill me, Harry," Percy cried out. "If you could just let me out, I could find evidence against Scrimgoeur and prove my innocence. Then I would be home free."

"I don't know, Perce," Harry said slowly. "I reckon they wouldn't look highly on me being Sheriff any more if I was to just let you out of your cell. Then where would I be? Out of a job and on the street."

"But you just have to let me out, Harry. I don't want to die!"

Harry thought for a moment. Then it hit him like a lead pipe what they could do to help Percy escape. "Hit me," he exclaimed.

"What?"

"Hit me. That way I can say you escaped custody and are on the run. But you can't go home to the Burrow. Do you got me, Percy? You have to get out of town. Lie low for a while. Then I'll let you know when it's safe to come home. Alright?"

Percy nodded gratefully. "I'm good with that plan. But what about my mom…"

"I'll handle Miss Molly and the rest of your family. But for right now you have to hit me the hardest you ever hit another human being in your entire life. They have to believe the story I tell them."

Percy really didn't want to hit Harry. He didn't want to ruin the rugged good looks of the sheriff by bruising his face. But Harry was right. So he pulled his fist back and closed his eyes and swung.

Harry cursed a blue streak as he felt Percy's fist connected with his nose, and then his eye. Before the red-haired man could go for another round Harry ducked out of the way.

"That's enough, Percy," he said. "I think it's believable now."

Percy opened his eyes to see the blood dripping from Harry's nose, and one of the gorgeous green eyes bruised over. He felt bad for doing it, but Harry told him to, after all. He put his fist down and walked over to Harry, pulling the other man into a hug.

Harry was confused as Percy pulled him into a hug. He didn't quite get what was going. Then it got even more confusing as Percy gently lay a kiss on his cheeks and over each eyelid.

"Maybe once I'm proven innocent I can do something with my life," Percy said. "Settle down with someone nice and start a family. Do you think?"

Harry felt a twang of jealousy hit him at this unknown future wife and family that Percy was dreaming up. He wanted to be a part of this future life. He wanted to be the one that Percy wanted to settle down with.

"I guess I'll be seeing you around then, Sheriff Potter," Percy said, as he snuck out the back door of the jailhouse.

"I'll be seeing you around, sweetheart," Harry whispered to the retreating back of the now fugitive. "Hopefully not too soon."

As Sheriff Potter settled back into his chair, he felt like a huge weight was now on his shoulders. He was the only one who knew that Percy wasn't going to be lynched anytime soon. He was the only one who had seen which way Percy had gone.

The lynch mob came shortly after midnight that next day, to find the cell that the prisoner was in empty, and sheriff with nothing but a smile and a broken nose for his trouble. They weren't too keen on Harry letting Percy get away, of course. So they ended up firing him. But that wasn't about to deter Harry from helping the man he loved. If need be he'd join the wrong side of the law and become an outlaw, starting now.

**I hope you all enjoyed Loving the Sheriff as much as I enjoyed writing it. **


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